Soccer

NAU: People Making a Difference  Soccers Kristi Andreassen

May 11, 2010

Courtesy of University
Marketing

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - As both a
student and an athlete at Northern Arizona University, Kristi
Andreassen has excelled. As a physical therapy major, she has
achieved a cumulative 4.0 GPA, and was recently honored as an
Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine. A center back for the
women’s soccer team, she helped lead her squad to a
conference championship and NCAA National Tournament appearance for
the first time in school history. Now, as she prepares for graduate
school in physical therapy, Kristi is committed to helping her
future patients achieve their own successes.

Kristi Andreassen was part of the
recruiting class that helped change the course of women’s
soccer history at Northern Arizona University. Before her arrival,
the NAU women’s soccer team had never made a national
tournament or captured a Big Sky conference championship. Now, as
she prepares to graduate, she can look back fondly on being a part
of two NCAA national tournament teams and the 2008 Big Sky
championship squad. Kristi, however, was no ordinary cog in the
wheel: a center back, she was captain of the 2009-10 team that fell
to top-ranked Stanford in the national tourney, and was also named
a first-team Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine. As a high
school star from Tempe, Kristi was drawn to Flagstaff for reasons
both visionary and pragmatic.

“Growing up, I always thought
I was going to go to Arizona State University, but I ultimately
decided on NAU because I really liked the coach, the team, and the
goals the coach had set for the team,” Kristi says.
“And academically, I knew I eventually wanted to become a
physical therapist, and they had a great undergraduate program that
prepared you really well for PT school.”

According to Kristi, coach Andre
Luciano’s vision of turning NAU into a women’s soccer
power resonated strongly with her. The opportunity to be a part of
building something great, she says, has been highly rewarding.

“In the past, (top soccer
recruits) haven’t thought about going to NAU as a number one
choice, so (Coach Luciano) wanted to create a winning team –
and a winning tradition,” she says. “He wanted to make
it to the NCAA national tournament every year. I loved being a part
of it, in that our class was his first recruiting class, and was
supposed to be a part of the turning point: we actually managed to
do that, so it’s been a great experience.”

When she came to Flagstaff, Kristi
brought two qualities – commitment and communication –
that proved to be key in helping to create a winning culture. When
everyone on the team shares these qualities, she says, great things
can happen.

“Personnel plays a huge part
of success – everyone has to have the same goal,” she
says. “Starting with my class, and with every recruiting
class since, we have all been committed: if you’re not
committed, you’re not going to be successful. I also try to
be constantly communicating, and constantly supporting my teammates
in any way possible. If you don’t know what’s going on
around you, the chances of making a mistake are a lot higher, so I
try to communicate a lot to help everyone around me.”

Kristi also has a strong desire to
help in another arena – as a physical therapist. Her desire
to become a therapist came after she suffered injuries as a high
school player, and was helped back to health by a physical
therapist. As an exercise science student, she has excelled,
earning a cumulative 4.0 GPA. And, she says, the experience has
been a remarkable one.

“Honestly, every professor
I’ve had here has been great,” says Kristi. “I
feel like we have so many great professors here, and that people
(outside of NAU) don’t really know that. People who
don’t come here don’t know how good our professors
are.”

Now, as Kristi applies to doctorate
in physical therapy programs – the NAU DPT program is first
on her list – she volunteers at a local physical therapy
clinic to help prepare her for what’s to come. Whatever comes
next, however, Kristi says she has no regrets about her decision to
come to Flagstaff.

“I love the campus, and the
fact that you can get across campus in 25 minutes,” she says.
“Classrooms are smaller here, and I’ve enjoyed my
classes, my professors, and definitely the soccer. Now I’m
looking forward to going to PT school, and helping people get back
to living the way they want to live life.”

DID YOU KNOW…The student-athletes
recorded a 3.0 GPA overall for the fall semester, the fifth time in
the last six semesters the department has had a 3.0 or better GPA
for the semester.